In the News (Sun 4 Dec 16)

Britains overseas possessions (see British Empire) were augmented by the victorious outcome of the War of the Spanish Succession, ratified in the Peace of Utrecht (1713).

Great political leaders of the late 18th cent., such as the earl of Chatham (see Chatham, William Pitt, 1st earl of) and his son William Pitt, could not govern in disregard of the crown.

Britains sometimes stormy relationship with the EU was heightened in 1996 when an outbreak of mad cow disease (see prion) in England led the EU to ban the sale of British beef; the crisis eased when British plans for controlling the disease were approved by the EU.

GreatBritain is an island lying off the north-western coast of Europe and to the east of Ireland, comprising the main territory of the United Kingdom.

Before the end of the last ice age, GreatBritain was a peninsula of Europe; the rising sea levels caused by glacial melting at the end of the ice age caused the formation of the English Channel, the body of water which now divides GreatBritain from the European mainland.

The climate of GreatBritain is milder than that of other regions of the Northern Hemisphere at the same latitude, because the warm waters of the Gulf Stream pass by the British Isles and exert a moderating influence on the weather.

The Kingdom of GreatBritain was superseded by the United Kingdom of GreatBritain and Ireland in 1801 when the Kingdom of Ireland was absorbed with the enactment of the Act of Union1800 following the suppression of the Irish Rebellion of 1798.

The Kingdom of GreatBritain was ruled by a single monarch, as it had been between 1603 and 1707 (excepting the Interregnum).

Legislative power was vested in the Parliament of GreatBritain, which replaced the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland.

Education in GreatBritain is compulsory for all children between the ages of 5 and 16.

As British overseas possessions continued to increase, the raising of sheep for wool and mutton became a principal occupation in the colonies; the practice of exporting wool from England and importing manufactured woolen articles was gradually replaced by the import of wool and the manufacture and export of yarns and fabrics.

GreatBritain became Austria's chief ally, and British armies and ships fought the French in Europe, in North America, on the high seas, and in India, where the English and French East India companies competed for influence.

The island of GreatBritain formed at the end of the Pleistocene ice age when sea levels rose due to isostatic depression of the crust and the melting of glaciers.

www.downes.ca /cgi-bin/page.cgi?topic=112 (3291 words)

United Kingdom / Great Britain(Site not responding. Last check: )

GreatBritain is the term used for the island containing the contiguous nations¹ of England, Scotland and Wales.

GreatBritain is used to distinguish Britain from Brittania Minor, or Brittany, in France.

The term "GreatBritain" was officially used only after King James I (who was also James VI of Scotland) acceded to the throne of England and Wales in 1603, styling himself King of GreatBritain, although legislative union between Scotland and England did not take place until 1707.

www.geo.ed.ac.uk /home/scotland/britain.html (432 words)

History of GREAT BRITAIN(Site not responding. Last check: )

The inhabitants of Britain - the island containing England, Wales and Scotland - live in a state of some confusion over their group identity.

GreatBritain's population has shown increasing ethnic diversity since the 1970s, when people from the West Indies, India, Pakistan, Africa, and China began immigrating; in the late 1990s these groups accounted for close to 3% of the population.

Therefore, the United Kingdom of GreatBritain, used to indicate the political union of England, Scotland and Wales, was expanded, in the 20th century, to include Northern Ireland: the "United Kingdom of GreatBritain and Northern Ireland" as it now appears on passports.

Were it not for British involvement, India might still have sati (burning wives on the funeral pyre of their husband), would have no unifying language, and probably no parliamentary democracy or other institutions and values that have made that country a democratic giant, now on its way to becoming an economic one as well.

The other current example of GreatBritain's decline is the widely reported (in the UK) decision of schools in various parts of that country to stop teaching about the Holocaust in history classes.

The foundations for the empire were laid between 1750 and 1850 during which Britain acquired India, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, Rhodesia, Hong Kong, Gibraltar, several islands in the West Indies and various colonies on the African coast.

Britain was also concerned by the growth in the German Navy and in 1904 the two countries signed the

There were soldiers in all Britain's overseas possessions except the white dominions of Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

The number of animals used in scientific procedures in GreatBritain increased by 3.3% last year, culminating in a seven-year high of 2.66 million animals, according to the British government's 2002 report on animals used.

There was a 45% increase in the use of techniques causing physical trauma, an 11% increase in the number of procedures using genetically modified animals, a 43% increase in experiments for household products, and a 29% increase in agricultural toxicology experiments.

Animal protectionists in GreatBritain are also concerned that the government did not meet its pledge to increase the number of laboratory inspectors by five (only three were added).

The United Kingdom of GreatBritain and Northern Ireland (the United Kingdom or the UK) [1] is a constitutional monarchy in northern Europe.

It occupies all of the island of GreatBritain, the north-eastern portion of the island of Ireland and most of the remaining British Isles.

Britain is an expensive country even for Britons (though average salaries are among the highest in Europe, the average purchasing power is among the lowest), and due to the strong pound, even more so for foreigners.

As seen in the photo to your right, "Great"Britain is shaped to look like a tall yet plump bearded man, wearing a hat and sitting down in shorts too big for him and possibly throwing a large baby into the air.

Your GreatBritain itinerary might include a stop at legendary Stonehenge, with its massive stone columns that some believe to be 4,000 years old.

Your GreatBritain travel plans might also include a stop in Canterbury, which inspired Geoffrey Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales." The scenic White Cliffs of Dover may also be a part of your experience.

British Isles tours and GreatBritain tours are classified according to the quality of amenities and accommodations.

www.tourvacationstogo.com /british_isles_tours.cfm (781 words)

Great Britain and Gun Control: With Neither Liberty nor Safety(Site not responding. Last check: )

GreatBritain, which gave birth to the great political philosophy of classic liberalism and to America, the flowering of Western civilization, is in moral decline.

Since 1996, when a madman went on a rampage killing 16 children and their teacher in Dunblane, Scotland, GreatBritain has tightened to strangulation its already draconian gun control laws so that only certified members of approved target-shooting clubs are allowed to own guns.

Although the U.S. remains ahead of Britain in rates of murder and rape, the gap is rapidly narrowing.

The main technique, which he says dates back to "ancient times", is finding the mid-point along GreatBritain's longest line of longitude (which runs from the Orkney Islands in the north to Dorset in the south).

The location of GreatBritain's true centre may never be entirely clear because of arguments over what method should be used to calculate it and the fact that GreatBritain's shape changes with tides and erosion.

In scenes evocative of A Clockwork Orange, cities across GreatBritain are being increasingly terrorized by bands of young thugs who beat, rob, shoot, and rape their way to the top of the criminal food chain.

While GreatBritain's violent crime rate is lower than that of the U.S., the incidence of violent crime in England and Wales has more than doubled in the past ten years during which gun and knife control laws have been on the books.

Britain's systematic removal of all self-protection weapons from its citizens has made it nearly impossible for people to defend themselves.

London has produced some of the most successful authors and provided the backdrop for countless novels, so if you want to explore the capital's literary history, perhaps your first stop should be the histo...